Pretty Lady
by AvalonBay
Summary: It's always hard to deal with your feelings for someone when you know it won't end well. What about the feelings you have for someone you're supposed to destroy? Kendall never thought she would have that problem. –Short Story-.
1. Chapter 1

**Pretty Lady**

 **Summary – It's always hard to deal with your feelings for someone when you know it won't end well. What about the feelings you have for someone you're supposed to destroy? –Short Story-.**

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 **Chapter 01**

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The screeching of tires still filled her head whenever she gave herself time to stop and think of it. The anxiety of turning and finding a car barreling her way continued to give her pause, as if each step she was about to take would result in her demise.

Kendall continued to wake up from the nightmares. And it was such a silly thing to have nightmares about, she supposed. She had been in much more danger when dealing with Sledge, Poisandra, and all of the other monsters that came from the desire to steal the Energems. But this was the nightmare that continued to haunt her dreams.

However it was the one that saved her that haunted her thoughts. The man that had come out of nowhere and grabbed her, pulling her to safety in the nick of time. She turned to thank him and was surprised at his appearance; brunette hair with blue streaks, a large nose that not many would find attractive, blue-green eyes she couldn't help but stare into. And the way he dressed, though not much unlike her own professional style, was even more so. Who else did she know wore a three piece suit with a matching tie and a pair of steampunk-esque goggles around his neck?

But it was the way he spoke to her. With a confident ease that she hadn't particularly had time for, especially from Chase. But the way he spoke to her, she couldn't help but listen. Of course it was because she hoped he would make the Purple Energem bond with him, but there was something else as well. Maybe it was the suave way he had saved her, or the warm smile he had given her as she tried to thank him.

Or maybe it was the wink he gave her…or that tattoo behind his right ear?

She couldn't help but think about him. Often she found herself staring off into space as she got ready in the morning. Then she noticed her expression and with a quick shake of her head, scolded herself into remembering what was important. _It wasn't him; you're the Purple Ranger now. There's nothing more to do with him._

Still…she couldn't help but think of his smile whenever she had a private moment to herself.

Heckyl stretched his legs out in front of him as he tilted his head back against the metal wall behind him. His throbbing headache had plagued him for hours and the only way he knew to let it go was if he got away from the rest of those…idiots. How many times did he have to listen to Poisandra and the others continue to whine and complain about Sledge while he was looking for the rest of the Energems? The stupid monsters and aliens that promised they would help him continue to fight the rangers to steal their powers and they did nothing but lose against them and aggravate him every second of every day. He needed time to himself to figure out what to do next.

With a sigh, Heckyl closed his eyes for a brief moment. He needed to get close to the rangers again. The closest he had gotten to the Purple Energem had been disrupted. And the girl was about to hand it right to him and it had to be ruined. His fingers were seconds away from touching the gem itself and then it was ripped away as quick as a band aid. It still stung.

The only thing that softened the blow as _her._ The girl…no, _woman_ who was about to give it to him. How was he to know that his chance of saving her would bring her to him? Not just because of the Energem, but because of her beauty alone. As he held onto her, watching as the car he saved her from blew by, he turned to look at her once more and was surprised at how transfixed he became with her eyes. They appeared to be magnetized by the size of her glasses lens but they were still beautiful.

And her smile…when he righted her and told her to be careful, her grateful smile illuminated her face. For a long moment he was mesmerized by her, completely forgetting that he was to look for to help Sledge, so that he could be released from his solitary confinement. But he knew what was being held over his head and had to get away. Then he almost got the Energem, almost revealed himself to her, and had to go into hiding.

But now that he knew she had the gem, maybe it was time to give her another visit…?

Heckyl smiled as he opened his eyes once more.

For the Energem of course.

To get an idea of how to destroy the Power Rangers from up close.

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 **A/N:** I had this idea floating around since the episode _Wishing for a Hero_ , and having just finished the opening episode of Dino Super Charge; I knew I had to write it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 02**

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Kendall smiled as she looked around the Amber Beach Dinosaur Museum. Things seemed to be going well, even with herself, Koda, and Sir Ivan being the only ones working to man the grills, the waiter duties, and hosting the entire restaurant. Of course Sledge's demise was a big component of that, but she wasn't splitting hairs.

For _once_ she wasn't so preoccupied with what was potentially going to go wrong. If they could handle a complete army of monsters, even going so far as to be the one to stow away on their ship to get an Energem back, then she could handle being down to three people on the staff. But she could see Koda and Sir Ivan were starting to become swamped; the summer was the best time for tourists to come into the museum and they had become slammed over the past couple of weeks. With Chase back in New Zealand, Shelby going to summer school—if her letter as anything to go by, Tyler off again to search for his father, Riley returning home, and Sir Philip II missing in action as well, they would need some more help.

Thankfully she had enough prospects to come take the open position of being a waiter, unfortunately she was the one that would have to make sure they could work with them just fine…and not figure out they were the Dino Charge Power Rangers. Yes, they weren't in action anymore, but there was always the slim possibility. Besides, the harder she worked, the less time she had to think about…him.

Glancing around the restaurant, Kendall noticed Sir Ivan waving her over. She walked over, holding onto a clipboard that held the resumes sent in to the museum restaurant. "Yes, Ivan?" She asked. "How are you holding up? I know the last order was a big one."

"As it is, Ms. Morgan," Ivan replied in his regal vernacular. "I wanted to bring to your attention the first prospect of those to take over Shelby's waitressing job has arrived. The gentleman is in that booth." He pointed towards the both with his spatula and smiled a smile that almost looked forced.

Kendall laughed, pulling her ponytail over her shoulder. "Thanks Ivan. Feel free to go on a break once you get the time. I don't want you to burnout or anything."

"What is burning out?" Koda asked, popping up beside Ivan. "It is…painful?"

"Sort of. I just mean I don't want him to get too tired," Kendall explained. "Please go on a break once you get the chance, Koda."

"Yes, Ms. Morgan."

Kendall picked up her clipboard and walked over to the booth Ivan pointed out to her. Without looking at her companion she set down her clipboard and started to flip through the resume. "So you're here to apply to be a waiter. May I ask if you have any experience?" She looked up and stared when she found her prince charming in front of her, smiling warmly once they locked eyes.

"Oh! It's you!"

 _He's not exactly a Prince Charming,_ Kendall reminded herself. _More like a…Knight in Shining Goggles?_ She mentally slapped herself as soon as the thought crossed her mind. She was supposed to be professional. There was no need to mix business with pleasure.

"You're the guy that saved me," she said, finding her voice once more. "From being hit by that car."

"And you're that girl," the guy replied with as much confidence as he could muster. Then he realized what he had just said and his bravado slowly lowered. "…That almost got hit by that car." Chuckling, he rubbed his neck. "I guess that's a good enough impression to get the job? I'm not doing so well right now."

Kendall closed her mouth and shook her head. Her head swirled, she felt a little nauseous. The guy she dreamt about, he was sitting right there in front of her…and she still hadn't asked him his name. "You saved me and I never got the chance to properly thank you," she finally managed to say, hoping she wasn't gushing as much as it sounded. She thrust her hand out towards him. "I'm Kendall. Morgan. Kendall Morgan. Thank You."

"I'm…" The boy paused, unsure of how to introduce himself, hand hovering in the hair. "Heckyl," he finally said, shaking her hand firmly. Despite taking pleasure in in the warmth of his hand, Kendall's eyebrows rose and he rushed to explain, "That's my nickname. Because I enjoy Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde so much. Mr. Stevenson is a prolific author." His nose wrinkled. "I don't prefer many people to know my given name." He cleared his throat. "It's not a very flattering name and I still resent my parents for it."

Kendall laughed. "Well, I'm constantly mistaken for a boy whenever my name is mentioned, so I think I have a bit of an understanding of what you go through on a daily basis."

"Really?" Heckyl tightened his grip on her hand and leaned against the table, his smile widening. "I happen to think that Kendall is a wonderful name. It goes well with an even more wonderful lady."

Condensation suddenly filled Kendal's glasses and she jerked backwards, finally dropping her hand from Heckyl's. She hadn't known it was possible. She actually blushed hard enough to make her glasses fog up. Or maybe it was the restaurant. It _was_ hot in there wasn't it?

"I'm sorry," Kendall said. She fumbled with her glasses, pulling them off so she could clean them on the bottom of her shirt. "I didn't…" she cleared her throat. "Okay, what sort of experience do you have with, um, being a waiter?" She put her glasses back on and looked up, watching as Heckyl jumped backwards, blushing.

"Well, not much," he admitted. "I just came here from out of town and I could really use a job," he explained. "I'm a hard worker. I can take initiative but I'll ask for help when I need something clarified. I can even wash dishes if you'd like me to. I really do need the extra cash." He motioned towards her. "And it's nice to know a friendly face. If I knew you worked here I would've applied sooner."

Heckyl's eyebrows furrowed together and he brought his hands to his lap before reaching up to fiddle with the goggles around his neck. He lowered his gaze from hers. "I don't expect this would be the best attire while actually working the job. But I thought I would make a good impression."

Nodding appreciatively, Kendall set his resume aside. "Well, unless you think a wave of grease will fly up into your face, then the goggles are okay." She laughed a nervous laugh and tapped her fingers on the table. "No, a regular t-shirt and jeans will be fine." She tilted her head to the side, zeroing in on the flame like marking on the side of his neck, just below his ear.

She suddenly had the urge to reach out and run her fingers over the mark, to see if his skin was still as smooth as she believed, and tightened her hands into fists. She had enough will power to keep her arms pinned to the table. "And I don't normally allow tattoos but I'm not entirely sure how would be able to cover it."

Heckyl's eyes lit up. "So I've got the job?"

 _Yes!_ Kendall was about to agree then clamped her mouth shut. _Professional, Kendall. You have to be professional._ "Well, I have some other people I need to interview but I'll let you know." She looked at the number written on the top of his page. "Is this cell phone number correct?"

"Yes. Yes it is."

"Then I will call you and let you know." Kendal stood up and held her hand out towards him once more. Heckyl grinned, grasping her hand firmly.

"I'll be awaiting your call," he said and placed his other hand on top of hers, cradling them in his. "Thank you so much for this opportunity, Kendall."

"You're welcome," Kendall replied in almost a murmur. Then she noticed Heckyl's gaze shift beside her and she jumped, noticing Koda and Ivan were flanking her sides. She quickly dropped Heckyl's hand and clasped hers together in front of her. "Yes. Well. I'll let you know if you've got the job," she said seriously. "Thank you for coming in."

"Thank _you_." Heckyl turned on his heel and left the restaurant.

Kendall scratched at her hairline as Ivan and Koda watched him before stepping in front of her, giving identical expressions of confusion and amusement. Koda pointed after Heckyl, dark eyes on Kendall with an innocent curiosity in them. "Ms. Morgan? Who is that?"

"Yes, I am also very curious as to who that gentleman was," Ivan added, his hands clasped together behind his back. The grin on his face infuriated her. She had let her guard down. She had let herself…feel for once rather than having everything in order. It was messy and messes were foreign to her.

"I…he was applying for the open position as a waiter," Kendall explained. "I was just interviewing him."

"Oh? Is that _all_ you were doing?" Ivan asked.

"Yes!" Kendall hugged the clipboard to her chest. "And what are you two doing out here?"

Koda tilted his head to the side in confusion. "On our break," he explained. "Ms. Morgan told us to take a break when we had time."

 _Right, right, I did say that._ Kendall nodded rapidly. "Yes, well, you're doing a good job. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some more applications to look through." She turned on her heel and walked away from her two friends and teammates.

She smiled.

She didn't mix business with pleasure but maybe this time she'd make an exception.

* * *

 _She remembered me. She remembered that I saved her._ Once Heckyl was out of the restaurant a light peal hit the air. Sighing heavily, he reached into the pocket of his waistcoat and pulled out a pocket watch. Flipping it open, a navy, cyan blue and silver monster appeared in view of the glass.

"What are you doing you fool?" The monster demanded, gruff voice encircling inside Heckyl's head as much as it did through the air around him. "She's a power ranger; you should've taken her Energem when you had the chance!"

Heckyl took a deep breath, trying to push the voice out of his head, but knew it was fruitless. The voice was a part of him just as his own soul. "Snide," he explained. "She didn't have her Energem with her. There was no need to attack her."

"If you continue to hesitate you'll never get it," Snide continued, ignoring Heckyl's statement. "You'll never figure out how to destroy the rangers if you don't start trying to get them when the chance presents itself to you." Then Snide lifted a hand. "No…no, actually you're doing the right thing. Lure her in, make her feel comfortable, then get that Energem and destroy her!"

"I can't lure Kendall in just for her Energem," Heckyl protested. "I need her for all of them." He closed the face of the pocket watch and replaced it into his waistcoat. He only made it a few steps before the voice continued.

 _"You better make it fast, Heckyl. The sooner we get those Energems, the sooner we can rule this planet!"_

"Yes, yes, I understand," Heckyl murmured. "But that doesn't mean I can't have some fun while I'm at it."

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 **A/N:** Ahh! Thanks so much for your guys' response to the first chapter. I didn't think so many people would like it. Actually I was expecting just one person to review let alone alert it. But thank you. As this is a short story I don't see it being more than 10 chapters. Shorter if I write some longer ones.

There will be a morphed battle and the others will come back into the story as well. Again, thanks for the reviews, alerts, and favorites. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

~ **Avalon**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 03**

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"Ms. Morgan, may I see you in the freezer, please?" Heckyl asked. "I believe there's something wrong with it."

Alarmed, Kendall looked up from her computer. She studied Heckyl as a million thoughts ran through her of head, most of which questioning what could possibly have gone wrong within the first few minutes that she had gone to get some work done. Koda and Ivan surely knew not to do anything other than their cooking duties, especially once she caught the Blue Dino Charge Ranger taking twenty minutes to get a pack of burger patties from inside. His hand reached out to grab the door knob and as soon as his fingertips touched the cold metal he would yank it back and hold it against his chest as if burned and would do it all over again.

"What? What's wrong?" She asked. "I can't afford to have anything go wrong. We're practically slammed right now!" And of course it would happen when her new waiter had only started a few days before. He had been working very well so far, as she noticed.

But she also noticed he had taken her suggestions of changing clothes to heart. Now he dressed in a similar fashion to Koda with cargo shorts and sneakers, and on the upper half he followed it up with a cyan wife beater—which she noticed matched exactly with the dye in his hair and tattoo on his neck—with a leather vest over top, showing off his arms. His muscular…muscular…arms.

"Ms. Morgan? It's really important."

"Right! Right!" Kendall snapped out of her trance and pushed herself away from her desk. She followed Heckyl to the freezer, taking long, panicked strides as she went. "So what's wrong? Is the temperature dropping? Did some of the food get freezer burn? Anything go bad? Don't tell me that we're out of food? We're not supposed to get another shipment until the end of the week." Hurrying into the freezer, she snapped on the light and looked around. Everything seemed to be in order. "What is it?"

Hearing a creaking sound, she turned around to find Heckyl pulling the door shut, but not closing it all the way. He then turned back to her and she noticed a mischievous glint in his eye, one that made butterflies erupt in her stomach. She hadn't even thought of that equation before; knowing the exact reasons of anxiety that fluttered through people, but now she understood the analogy. Somehow she felt hot despite her breath fogging up in front of her face and her body starting to shake.

"I apologize for lying," Heckyl said, walking towards her. "But I felt I didn't have any other way to get you alone."

"Oh." Kendall's eyes shifted. "Alone?" Then she briefly shook her head, pushing her glasses up her nose. "You know if you wanted to talk, we could've just stayed in my offi—"Heckyl reached out and placed his finger against her lips. _Oh. He didn't want to talk._

"I've been working here a few days now and I know that it may be against the rules of working together, but I wanted to tell you that I'm very attracted to you, Ms. Morgan," Heckyl said in a low murmur. "And that I think about you a lot and that I may have taken the job so that I could be closer to you." He removed his finger from her lips and moved his hand to cradle her neck. Kendall moved into the warmth, her body starting to shake amongst the cold.

"Heckyl, I…"

Kendall trailed off, noticing Heckyl's face moving towards hers. She smiled and tilted her head up; her mouth meeting Heckyl's halfway. His lips were warm and firm, pressing against hers in a gentle manner. Then her arms were around his neck and his around her waist, pulling each other's bodies flush against the other, taking in the warmth that escaped them. Kendall tilted her head aside and moved her hands down to Heckyl's neck. She felt him shiver beneath her and smiled to herself. Heckyl grabbed her waist, thumbs sliding under her shirt and rested against her bare skin.

And the two continued to kiss. Again and again, each one blending into the next. She found herself lost in his kiss, his lips on hers, his hands on her, starting to roam. She needed the kiss. Needed to loosen up a little.

"Ms. Morgan?" He murmured against her lips, pulling back slightly.

"Yeah?" She whispered back.

"Ms. Morgan?"

"What?!"

Startled, Kendall looked away from her computer screen and back to Ivan, who stood in front of her desk, waving a hand in front of her face. Once he saw he had her attention he started to speak once more. "Ms. Morgan is everything alright? I had been calling your name for the last five minutes."

Briefly closing her eyes, Kendall turned away from her computer and pressed her fingertips to her temples. She really had to stop zoning out like this. Heckyl had been working at eth café for a few days now and while the two had shared a secret smile every now and then, her mind was doing a great job of running away from her and filling in blanks that didn't necessarily need to be filled.

"I'm sorry, Ivan, what is it?" She asked.

His eyes shifted for a moment. "Well, it's just that we have tried to get into contact with Chase, Tyler, Shelby, and Riley but have not heard from them in the past couple of days. Koda is starting to panic but I didn't think it was anything to worry about. Until I tried contacting them myself and have received no answer."

"Huh, that certainly is weird," Kendall agreed. One of the points of being a ranger was to be in constant communication in case a monster attacked. Not to mention they had all grown so close, to be their own little family that they were in constant communication as it was. "Let me try." She reached into the top drawer of her desk and found her cell phone, which she always locked away when she was working. She frowned, noticing a voice message on her phone.

Punching in the number to her voicemail she frowned, listening to Tyler's message. It started out fine, but then suddenly cut off as he cried out in surprise. Surprise about what? "Yeah, I have a weird message from Tyler, too," she said. "He suddenly cut off." Exchanging a worried glance with Ivan, Kendall stepped around her desk and left her office. She ran into Heckyl, literally, before she could reach Koda, who was working at the grill. "Oh, sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Ms. Morgan," Heckyl reassured her, shifting the bus tub he had tucked under his arm. "I should've looked where I was going." He gave a nervous smile, blowing a strand of hair off his forehead. "I'm just in such a rush; it's packed in here, today."

Kendall nodded as she looked around the full tables. At least they didn't have to worry about that. "That's good," She said. "That's…good."

"Is everything okay? You seem really…distracted?"

Her mind shifted back to the daydream she had been rudely interrupted from and shook her head. "No! No. Nothing's wrong. Just…I'm just trying to get into contact with some of my former employees. Normally we're always texting and…" She trailed off as Heckyl gave her a meaningful look. "Not that I don't enjoy having you here."

"Oh, no." Heckyl shook his head. "I was just thinking…it would be nice to meet all of the other employees. Koda and Ivan have been really helpful to me; it's like working on a team." He smiled once more, but this smile seemed different. Almost smug, as if he knew something she didn't. "I'm sure we would all get along as well."

"I'm sure you would too," Kendall agreed. "If I could get into contact with any of them." _And you know, keep you from finding out about what it is we're really doing. But keeping up with the Museum is really important in keeping up our ruse._ She smiled at Heckyl and stepped around him, heading over to Koda, who was chewing his nail. "Koda?" She called.

The caveman whirled around and grabbed onto her shoulders. "Ms. Morgan, I call others," he explained. "They not answer."

"I know, Ivan filled me in," Kendall agreed. She sucked in a deep breath. "If one of them weren't replying I wouldn't think anything wrong so much as they were busy. But _all_ of them, _and_ Chase who _always_ has his phone on him? I don't like it." She widened her eyes slightly, being careful not to say her suspicions out loud. Not only was no one else to hear but if she said it, then it would manifest itself.

Their ranger duties were supposed to be over, Sledge was gone. There shouldn't be any more danger. And yet… she had a feeling in her stomach she didn't like. Not compared to… _Ugh, can't you just forget about that?_

"It wouldn't hurt to pay them a little visit would it?" Ivan asked, noticing Kendall's gaze. Besides him, Koda wrung his hands together, itching to get started on something. "I mean...just to make sure it's not anything we can rule out? Like…Shelby is engaged in a lot of activities? Tyler might be in an area with no cellular reception or…whatever it is that you call it. And Riley is on a farm, we know how much work that can take…it wouldn't hurt to check. Right?"

"Right," Koda agreed.

"Okay, let's go." Kendall turned on her heel and spotted Heckyl. She immediately froze. "Let me just tell him that we're closing down the café for the day. You tell the rest of the customers. They look to be finishing with their food, it shouldn't be too bad." She followed Heckyl to the dishwasher as he started to load it. "Once you're finished putting those dishes and silverware in, you can just run it and get out. We're closing early."

"Really?" Heckyl's eyebrows rose. "How come? I still have a few hours left in my shift and I intend to get every use out of it." He smirked once more. "To learn as much as I can."

"Oh. Well. There's something that we have to do," Kendall explained. "We have to go pick up some stuff. It seems like our shipment isn't coming in when they said it would and we need the stuff so…"

"Great, I'll be glad to help," Heckyl insisted.

"E-excuse me?"

"I have to pull my weight around here somehow. And I thought it would be a good way to get to know you better." He paused, as if realizing he made a mistake and corrected himself. "And Koda and Ivan. Unless…you don't want me to come along?"

Kendall gazed at him for a long moment. It didn't look like she was going to get rid of him anytime soon. And ditching him with a flimsy excuse didn't seem like it would work either. One thing she had to say for sure, he was very dedicated to his work when he wanted to be.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure I can help," he added. "I mean, how hard can it be to lift some boxes and bring it to a car?"

"Well, it's not exactly like that."

"I'll help however I can!" Heckyl reached out and grabbed onto her hands. He looked meaningfully at her. "It's the only way that I can be sure to thank you for giving me this opportunity. You could've hired anyone and…well…I'm not exactly qualified for the job. I guess I just want to say thank you for taking a chance on me. If there's any way I can repay you, I'd be glad to do it."

Kendall looked down at their intertwined hands, looked up at Heckyl's eyes, which seemed to glow, and smiled.

* * *

 **A/N:** So if you couldn't tell by now this story is based around the first episode of Dino Super Charge though some of it has been changed as you can see as well. Thank you to all of the reviews and favorites so far. I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

~ **Avalon**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 04**

* * *

 _"If there's any way I can repay you, I'd be glad to do it."_

Hecky's upper lip curled as the voice came to his head once more. "I meant what I said!" He snapped.

Snide gave a merciless bark of laughter. " _I know you meant what you said, however I can't be sure it's for the same means that they were for in the first place."_ There was a sudden searing pain through Heckyl's neck and he cried out, placing both palms against the sides in case something was about to come splitting out. _"You see? I have a stronger reach against you than you think."_

Taking deep breaths, Heckyl leaned against the counter behind him and brought his hand up to his head, holding it between his hands. A splitting headache, he always had a splitting headache, whenever Snide was concerned. It was all he could do to keep the other side of him from breaking through. It was always such a hard battle.

 _"You've deviated from the point of our plan,"_ Snide insisted. His voice took on a harsh, growling tone. _"You're supposed to be infiltrating the rangers; find out their base, take their Energems and leave them powerless so that we can take over. That's still the plan isn't it?"_

Heckyl was silent, continuing to hold his head in his hands. That _was_ still the plan wasn't it? His hatred for the rangers, his wanting to prove how easily he could take over, getting revenge over how long he had been put in solitude…that was the whole idea. But he had met Kendall, he had gotten to know her better…truthfully _that_ had been why he had gone down to Earth in the first place. He really wanted to see her again, wanted to talk to her, wanted to make her smile just as he had the first day. Since he had saved her. And it had worked better than he thought, he got talk to her again and now he was working with her.

But Snide…he was always in the back of his head.

Always there to try and make sure he was doing what he was supposed to do. Always waiting in the dark recesses of his mind to break free and take over so that when Heckyl took over once more he was stuck with the aftermath, unsure of what was going on. But that space in the back of his mind, it was a dark; darker than he had ever imagined possible. How was he to come to his senses and do what he was supposed to do if things around in his head were always so dark? How was he supposed to push the voices and the dark thoughts aside if darkness continued to follow him?

Bringing his hands down away from his head, Heckyl took in a deep breath through his nose. He closed his eyes briefly then opened it again, staring at rows and rows of pasta and dried goods in the pantry. Every now and then he took a deep breath and trying to block out his haunting thoughts, Snide, and everything around him. It didn't work, but it was the best thing he could think of at such short notice. Who ever thought meditation was such a good idea anyway? It was all a bunch of nonsense but a short sense of reprieve was all he needed, all he hoped for. Besides, as far as Heckyl knew it wasn't possible for him to have any light around him to balance out the darkness.

Until Kendall.

She was the first bright piece of light he had seen in a long time. Taking in a deep breath, Heckyl started to pace back and forth. He could feel himself starting to smile as an image of Kendall appeared in his head. Her smiling face, the way her forehead wrinkled when she was thinking hard, concentrating on whatever work had to be done. How had she managed to be the only one to offset his years of evil?

Heckyl shook out his hands, continuing to pace. He had to shake her out of his head or else someone would get hurt. If she found out what he was doing, she wouldn't smile at him anymore, she would glare, be hurt, think he betrayed her. He couldn't fathom that thought as realistic as it was. He couldn't relax, he had to keep moving or else he would ruin everything. And if he didn't do what Snide wanted…well….

If he relaxed it would be like he was giving up on either of his objectives.

 _"What are you waiting for?"_

The whispered voice came from his head, it always had. He tried to ignore it. It wasn't really there. It was just his imagination, it was just his guilt. But no, Snide was always there, watching him, a part of him, waiting to get out and take his shot at destroying the rangers.. It was his guilt, though he had nothing to be guilty of, he hadn't done anything yet but try to get to know such a pretty lady. But that wasn't entirely true was it, was it?

He only had one job to do and he didn't do it. He didn't expect things to end up so badly.

 _"You can do it."_

It was the only solution, really, to get Snide to go away. He had to go through with it. To destroy them, to take their Energems and leave them powerless at the very least. They could move on, they hadn't been rangers for so long and he'd make sure nothing happened to them; happened to _her._

It would be fine.

 _"You can do it."_

The voice grew louder, swirling and whispering around him. Heckyl placed his palms against his ears and pressed as hard as he could. He needed to think. His head ached, his heart thumped, there was a ringing in his ears, and yet he could still hear Snide goading him, giving harsh whispers and laughs, taunting and teasing him yet sending fear through him with minimal effort. Just as he always did.

 _"You have to."_

Heckyl shook his head, uttering a weak 'no' but he knew it was right. He had to do it. He had to make them hurt. He could explain to Kendall, she would understand, she was smart. She'd get it. He had no choice. And with that the voices and whispers slipped away until there was deafening silence around him.

And he smiled.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm sorry for the wait, but thanks for being so patient with me through my bit of a hiatus. I had some school work I needed to do. But here is the next chapter. I hope you guys liked it.

~ **Avalon**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 05**

* * *

Kendall's eyes narrowed behind her glasses as she peered out through the front windshield of the museum's truck. It bounced along the dirt road, rocks and twigs slapping against the underbelly, sending light a pulsating sound through the car. Beside her, Heckyl expertly traversed the car over and through the rough terrain. In the back, Koda and Ivan peered through the back windows as they strained to see anything.

Kendall glanced at Heckyl, watching as he stayed focused on the road. How was she going to explain what they were out there for? It obviously wasn't for the restaurant or any sort of deliveries. Not unless they were ones being done under the table. _What's he thinking?_

But he kept his blue eyes on the road.

"This can't be it," Heckyl said once he pulled the car to a stop under Koda's sudden instruction. He turned off the car and glanced over at Kendall, confusion written in his eyes.

"I'm positive it is," Kendall said as brightly as she could manage. Clearing her throat, she reached out and placed her hand atop Heckyl's. "I'm sorry I lied to you, but we're not here for deliveries. You see, our friends are missing and we think this is the last place they were seen."

"Why didn't you just tell me? Why don't we call the police?"

"Because the police wouldn't help us. It'd take too long; there'd be too many questions." _Just like the ones I hope you're not going to ask,_ she thought. She watched as Heckyl continued to stare at her, then, finally, he nodded and moved to get out of the truck.

"I can understand why you lied," he said. "You felt that you had no other choice."

"Right. Exactly right." Kendall slid down from the passenger seat and closed the door. She jumped when Ivan and Koda were revealed from behind it with Ivan grinning at her and Koda looking confused. He looked back and forth between Ivan and Kendall before asking, "Why you grin at Ms. Morgan like that?"

"Because my blue friend, it appears that Ms. Morgan has a certain crush on Heckyl," Ivan explained. Kendall briefly closed her eyes, trying to find a way out of the situation. "If I recall correctly she has been acting a tad strange since Heckyl decided to take the job. Tell me Ms. Morgan, is this the fellow you were referring to when asking me about my wish of rescuing a princess from before?"

"Ms. Morgan, princess?" Koda asked.

 _Koda, you're really not helping right now._ Kendall held up her hands and said in her most stern voice, "That isn't important right now! What's important is that we need to find our friends!" She stepped around Koda and Ivan, risked a glance at Heckyl as he stood nearby, hands shoved into his pockets. Heckyl caught her gaze and gave a bit of a smug smile, almost like he had heard the entire conversation and that just spurned Kendall to walk into the woods even further. "The GPS data from Tyler's phone shows this is the area he called me from before the call was dropped. We should split up and look around."

"Well, the woods tend to be dangerous," Heckyl pointed out. "So we should group together in pairs in case something happens." He turned to Kendall and offered her a smile before tilting his head down a path. "Shall we?"

Kendall nodded in response, ignoring the bright grin that Ivan was now flashing her way. He elbowed Koda in the side and pointed towards the purple ranger and Heckyl, who then smiled—as if finally understanding—then nodded back to him. Kendall glared and pointed them in the opposite direction and they finally stopped smiling, a serious expression coming to their faces. The two raced off into the woods.

"Come on, let's check this way," Kendall said, turning her attention to the other direction and started to speed walk down and adjoining path. Heckyl followed along behind her, not moving at the same frantic pace she was, but methodically checking the areas she breezed by. "Tyler!" She shouted, voice echoing through the woods. "Tyler, where are you?" She twisted back and forth, eyes darting back and forth behind her glasses. "Tyler!"

She could hear Koda and Ivan yelling out for Tyler as well, their footsteps rapidly moving through the woods nearby. She knew if anyone was going to find Tyler or at least a hint of where he went it was Koda. The caveman's senses were highly enhanced compared to hers and the others. This wasn't good; things had been happening strangely as of late.

Not only did the rangers defeat Sledge, but now the others are were missing and there was no sense of any new monsters that came back. What could have caused them to all go missing at one time other than a monster? But there was no way for them to figure out exactly what was going on. Having listened to Tyler's voicemail over and over again, there was nothing, not even in the background that gave her an idea of what happened. Growling, Kendall brought her hands up to her head.

 _Think Kendall, think. You're smart. You can figure this out._ She started to pace back and forth. Chase was in New Zealand, Riley was back on his farm, Tyler was out driving around, and Shelby was at school. What was it that would have moved fast enough to get them all if it wasn't a monster? _And why can't I figure out what it is. This isn't something that usually takes more than a few minutes._ She turned around and stopped, startled when she spotted Heckyl standing at the end of the path, watching her. He looked like he was struggling internally about something.

Something he wanted to say, something he didn't want to say…

"What?" She asked, finding that her voice was coming out in a bark. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? Why aren't you looking harder?"

"Because I'm not sure that we're going to find them," Heckyl said honestly. "But I didn't want to say that because I know it'd upset you."

"Of course it'd upset me," Kendal snapped back. "My friend is missing and there's no lead to go on and—"she stopped, realizing that she was about to give away the secret she and her friends had. There wasn't anyone that had to know they were rangers, no one could know. There would be too many downfalls of that secret being exposed; too many questions, too many probing investigations; life would never be the same. She reached up and tightened her grip around the Energem that sat around her neck in comfort. "I just don't understand how I can't figure out where they are…how I can't…I don't know…they might be in danger and I can't do anything about it."

"Then you should call the police," Heckyl insisted.

"Argh!" Kendall started to turn away but Heckyl quickly grabbed onto her shoulders, holding her still. "I'm incredibly intelligent, I have research awards, I'm the leading scientist of research in my field, I'm practically running the museum by myself and I can't…I can't even find a single clue to figure out where my friends are." Kendall brought her hands to her forehead, shaking. This wasn't her. She wasn't normally so emotional like this. She used to be so in control over her emotions, but that was before having met the other rangers and becoming their friend. Now she knew what it was like to be a friend and care for someone so much that she worried like a…like a mother. That was it, she had become the mother-friend of the group of rangers and she was worried about them. Worried sick. "I don't know what to do."

She felt Heckyl reach up her hands and gently hold them in his, pulling them down to her sides. He took step towards her, looking straight in her eyes. "Kendall, you're smart. And you're beautiful. I can tell you're upset but you need not fret, Pretty Lady. You're going to find them."

Kendall looked back at him. All of her emotions were going haywire, but he knew just what to say to make her feel better. He really did care about her. But there was something in his eyes she could see that was bothering him, something he was struggling with.

"What's going on in that head of yours, Pretty Lady?"

 _Pretty Lady…_

Kendall lowered her gaze to her feet for a moment, and then looked up at him once more. With a flourish, Kendall removed her hands from his, placed them on his neck, and pulled his head down to hers as she kissed him. Heckyl made a sound of surprise and placed his hands on her waist as he kissed her back. It was like her daydream; a kiss that made her feel everything but the worries she was trying to suppress. It was something she needed and wanted so badly, to feel something bigger than herself, everything she had suppressed for too long.

Kendall brought her arms up, resting her elbows on Heckyl's shoulders then ran her fingers through his hair as Heckyl pulled her closer to him, the intensity of the kiss increasing as the seconds passed. Then, suddenly, she heard a sound of rapid footsteps and crackling branches around her moving to the side.

"Ms. Morgan! I believe Koda has found something!" She could hear Ivan called.

Kendall broke away from the kiss and turned her head to the side, watching as Koda sprinted through the woods in a blue blaze of speed, practically running on all fours. Ivan raced along behind him high-stepping over fallen logs, his cape flowing behind him. Kendall started to turn towards the direction her friends were going then found Heckyl tighten his grip around her. Kendall turned back to him and noticed a pained snarl on his face, gaze going back and forth from Kendall to her friends. She tried to move and once again he tightened his grasp.

"Heckyl," she said, struggling to pull away. "Heckyl, what're you doing?"

Finally, after a moment of hesitation, Heckyl dropped his hands from her waist and Kendall raced off after the other rangers. She heard Heckyl running behind her and the four came to a stop as they took in the sight of Tyler's jeep completely encased in a block of ice.

"A monster did this," Kendall said once she found her voice.

"But Sledge was destroyed," Ivan pointed out. He slowly turned his head to face Kendall and Koda. "Wasn't he?" He asked.

Heckyl cleared his throat, taking a step forward. "I'm sorry, what's a Sledge?" He asked.

"It's a long story," Kendall practically spat. She walked over to the jeep and stuck out her hand, fingers grazing the ice. Her fingers burned once she touched the frozen block it was so cold. A shiver raced through her body. Turning back, she watched as Koda lifted his head and started to sniff around. "It couldn't have been Sledge," She said. "This was a different monster."

"What kind of monster?" Koda asked. His head whipped around in time for a blue and white monster with icicles for hands, Iceage, to leap out from the bushes and send an icy blast his way. Koda brought up his hands to defend himself and when the smoke cleared he was encased in a block of ice. Ivan, who was standing nearby the blue ranger, was then covered in the icy mist as well.

"Koda! Ivan!" Kendall cried. She clenched her hand into a fist as Iceage turned her way, raising his hands. "Let my friends go!" Without thinking about it, she raced towards the monster, kicking it straight in the face. Iceage fell to the ground and got back to his feet, charging towards her once more. He swiped his arm towards her head and Kendall ducked out of the way, then following it up with a roundhouse kick and a judo sweep, knocking Iceage over once more. Backing away, Kendall grasped her Energem once more, looking over at Heckyl, who had crouched down behind Tyler's jeep.

She held her breath, figuring out whether or not she should morph. One outside person knowing their secret wouldn't be too bad, she figured. And he was in danger just by being there with her. Iceage then grabbed her arm and flung her through the air and to the ground. Kendall rolled onto her side and got to her feet, giving another flying attack Iceage. She leapt high into the air with a battle cry, ready to attack him again, but Iceage brought up his fist and threw her to the ground.

Groaning, Kendall looked up to see Iceage slowly walking her way. "You really need to chill out!" Iceage cried as he walked towards her. "Thankfully, I know the perfect way to make that happen!" He brought his hands up and they started to glow blue once more. An icy blast was sent her way.

Kendall quickly brought up her arsenal. "Dino Blade Blaster!" She pulled it up and shot a blast towards Iceage. It shot forward, cutting the icy blast in two, and struck Iceage in the chest. Then there was a second, bright blue blast that came from her side and struck him as well, knocking him back into a tree and fell to the ground.

"Wha…?" Kendall gasped, looking at her blade blaster. She hadn't sent out a second blast. And it was a powerful one. So where did it come from? She turned to her side and saw Heckyl kneeling by her side, hands up and glowing a light blue. He had sent an attack towards Iceage a well. "Heckyl—"

"Come on! I'll explain later!" Heckyl looked down at her. "Looks like you have to explain something, too."

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry for the wait on an update. I didn't get much feedback on the last chapter so I lost motivation. I hope you guys liked this one.

~ **Avalon**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 06**

* * *

Kendall was annoyed with herself and the entire situation that she had to show Heckyl the base she and the rest of the rangers had beneath the café as well as reveal him to Keeper. But she had no choice. She had seen Iceage freeze Ivan and Koda right in front of her so at least she knew what they were up against. Still, they didn't know where Tyler, Shelby, Chase, or Riley were and now she had Heckyl, who seemed to have a secret of his own.

 _Ugh, Kendall, how could you do that?_ She asked herself, moving back and forth around the floor of the base, fiddling with different computers and machines as he did so. Heckyl stood quietly off to the side, unsure of what to say. Or maybe afraid she was going to snap at him if he tried to tell her something. That was fine. There was something he needed to tell her and if he needed to tell her, he could do it on his own time. She had to keep her secret as a ranger for a few reason; 1) because she had only been a ranger for a short while, 2) they _had_ to keep the secret or else their friends and family would be targeted, 3) because they would be targeted even more by monster she wasn't sure had been created yet.

And _and_ and _and_ and _and…_

There was just too much at stake. And talking about it now, when she was trying to find a way to find Tyler and the others was not the time to speak about it. Though Heckyl really seemed to want to. Every time she glanced his way he would give her a meaningful look in response, or open his mouth to say something before she would pointedly turn away. Besides, she worked better in silence.

"Kendall," Heckyl started.

"You can call me Ms. Morgan," She replied, staring at her computer screen. Her tone was as cool as ice, causing Heckyl to take a step back in case she took out her Dino Blade Blaster and managed to take a shot at him.

"If you would just listen to me—" Heckyl cut himself off and turned around at a sound coming from a slide in the corner of the room. Kendall looked over and stepped around her desk just as Tyler came sliding into the base. "Whoa."

"Tyler!" Kendall cried.

"Ms. Morgan!" Tyler replied, once he was on his feet. Kendall hurried over and grabbed her friend in a tight hug. Then she took a step back and looked him up and down.

"We thought you were taken down by Iceage," She explained.

"We?" Tyler repeated. He glanced around the base before his eyes settled on Heckyl. They darkened for a second as he looked the Bounty, who mirrored his expression of unease. "What's he…?"

"It's a long story," Kendall interrupted.

At this, Heckyl took a step forward. "Which would be much shorter if you gave me a chance to explain," he defended himself. But Kendall ignored him.

"After your call we were looking for you," Kendall explained. "And we found your jeep covered in a bunch of ice. We couldn't find you but Iceage found us and now Koda and Ivan have been taken down, too." She was about to say that she had to show herself to Heckyl and that he had done something amazing as well, but decided not to. It had to have been obvious or else Heckyl wouldn't have been in their base. "I've been using the tracking equipment but…I haven't gotten anything. Shelby, Chase, and Riley have been taken down, too. I don't have much of a lead and we need to help them soon…or at least Koda."

Tyler's eyebrows furrowed together and Kendall quickly explained the blue ranger's past of being a caveman who had tried to save his younger brother from an attack and was then encased in a block of ice of years. It was her and Chase that had found him within that ice and with the Blue Energem. And how she had been the one to take him out of his block of ice and showed him how to become a normal person. But she knew he had to have been scared before he was encompassed completely. If anything, she had to save Koda as quickly as possible to let him know everything was alright.

"Kendall," Keeper said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "I may have found a way for you to be able to save the other rangers."

"Really?" Tyler's eyes immediately widened at the prospect.

"Yes," Keeper said. "But we're going to need everyone's help." With that, he turned his attention to Heckyl, whose eyebrows rose before he grimaced, bringing a hand up to the side of his neck. He gripped it, painfully, shoulders moving up to his ears with tension.

Kendall immediately shook her head. "No," she insisted. "We don't need his help."

"Kendall, we need _everyone's_ help," Keeper insisted. He turned back to Heckyl and gave him a long look. "I understand a you feel…confused as to what happened while you were out in the woods. But I do believe there is something that Heckyl can do to aid in your defeat of Iceage."

Kendall pressed her lips firmly together. Keeper did have a point. There _was_ something Heckyl had been trying to tell her. Something about the blue light energy she had seen crash into Iceage just as she was about to be taken down herself. And if Keeper was saying so…

Heckyl slowly lowered his hand from his neck, though pain still registered in his face. "I'll do whatever I can," he said solemnly.

There was a sudden beeping sound and Kendall pushed Tyler out ofher wayas she hurried to her computer. Pushing a few buttons, she frowned, noticing a position locked on within Amber Beach. Iceage was back and was ready for a fight again. With a sigh, she looked up towards Tyler, Keeper, and Heckyl.

"If you're going to help, we need to leave now."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Snide demanded as Heckyl ran along with Tyler and Kendall towards Iceage's whereabouts. "This isn't how we're supposed to take down the rangers!"

Heckyl pressed his lips together, trying to keep his cry of pain from escaping his lips. Snide was getting very angry now. Every time the tattoo on his neck pulse he could feel the utmost fury that Snide was trying to unleash, trying to get them to revert so that the monster side would come out and take his revenge. Heckyl had to work harder on concentrating on his own form so that Snide wouldn't hurt anyone. Wouldn't hurt _Kendall._

While watching her pace throughout the base beneath the café he could feel Snide working hard, trying to get out so he could kill her. Snide continued to berate Heckyl over and over, saying how much he would laugh as he snapped the neck of the Purple Power Ranger, leaving Heckyl to pick up the pieces, crying over her lifeless corpse afterwards. And Heckyl continued to fight him as much as he could. But he knew he was starting to lose the battle. If Tyler hadn't come in when he had, Heckyl may have finally given in. As it was, Snide was doing everything he could to drain Heckyl of his energy before breaking out.

There had to be something he could do.

Finally, Heckyl, Tyler, and Kendall skidded to a stop when they found Iceage and an small gathering of Vivix. Iceage laughed loudly as he saw the three in front of him. "You came to find your friends, but you found your doom. I guess things have become a bit too chilly for you!"

Kendall and Tyler looked at each other before nodding. Then they pulled out their morphers and raced towards Iceage, crying out "Energize!" as they went. They immediately launched into battle with Iceage and the Vivix. Heckyl swallowed hard and backed away from the fight as the pain became too much to bear. He cried out in pain, dropping to his knees.

He pressed his forehead to the ground, pushing his palms against it as hard as he could. Another scream escaped his lips and he curled up into a ball. He could feel Snide pressing down on all sides of him, pushing, pulling, trying to force the change. Heckyl's pocket watch fell to the ground and he reached out to open it, staring at Snide, who glowed blue with rage.

"Why are you defying me?" He demanded. "This is the perfect time to take down the rangers!"

"I'm not going to let you hurt them," Heckyl declared, gasping for air. He brought his hands up to his neck, pressing his fingers into his skin as hard as he could. Convulsions started to wrack his body. "I'm not going to let you hurt _her_. Not Kendall."

"You've grown soft on her," Snide declared. "I should have made you kill her the second you infiltrated their base! You were alone to do so! You could've left Iceage take them down and you turned on me!"

"No…" Heckyl moaned. His legs curled up into his chest.

"I'm going to destroy the rangers," Snide continued. "And I'm going to leave her for last! I'll torture her until she's begging for death and _then_ I'll destroy her slowly and painfully. Her screams and cries of pain will be music to my ears."

"No!"

Heckyl closed his eyes, feeling himself starting to weaken, and dropped his hands from his neck. It was no use, Snide was too powerful. He didn't have a choice but allow the transformation. Snide climbed off the ground, holding his sword high into the air before glancing down at the pocket watch where Heckyl looked back at him in dismay. If only he could destroy that pocket watch and be Snide on his own, but that wasn't possible. He needed to be able to turn into Heckyl to recharge, to store his energy so he could change back.

Laughing to himself, Snide walked out towards Iceage and found the Red and Purple Rangers encompassed in blocks of ice just as the rest of the rangers had become. Snide picked up his sword and gently slid it around the side of the block of ice that encompassed the purple ranger. He couldn't wait to plunge the sword right into the center of the ice, maiming her before killing her. And the others….ooh he couldn't wait for it. It was going to be music to his ears.

"Great job, Iceage," Snide said to him. "Let's get them with the others so I can destroy them all at once."

Snide and Iceage took the rangers' blocks of ice and transported them to a clearing where they all stood in front of him like trophies. Mirth filled Snide's body as he walked back and forth in front of them. Then he laughed, putting his sword over his shoulder, stopping in front of the Red and Purple Rangers. What better way than to get rid of them first? Once the leader was taken down, the rest of them would fall. And then the purple one he could leave to watch as her friends died, one by one.

"These morphed ones…I'll take their Energems first," Snide declared. He raised his word high into the air. "They'll be mine!"

"No, Snide, don't!" Heckyl cried.

Snide ignored Heckyl and shifted his foot back. He swung his sword down and crashed it into the blocks of ice. He could hear Heckyl's cries in the back of his head as Snide watched, allowing the crushed blocks to cascade to the ground with their ranger suits falling as well. Snide howled with laughter as he walked over to the fallen suits. Then his laughter slowly started to fade, realizing what was going on. Their suits were left… _their suits!_

No, blood. No bones. Nothing that Snide could use to torture later. Just their suits.

"What?" He demanded. "What's going on?!"

"They've disappeared!" Iceage cried, racing up to Snide's side. All of a sudden he and Snide were struck in the stomachs with a large blast and they fell back against the ground. Iceage scrambled to his feet to find Tyler and Kendall, unharmed, pointing their Dino Blaster towards the two monsters.

"NO!" Snide screamed in fury. He could feel Heckyl's happiness as the two rangers revealed themselves. "This is all your fault!" He screamed to himself, knowing Heckyl could hear. "We could've had their Energems and you got in the way."

"I'm not going to let you hurt them anymore. We wanted to take over the universe…I'm not going to let that happen if something happens to them."

"She's made you soft. You wanted the Energems to take over the Earth. To destroy the rangers."

"I want the Energems to make me the most powerful being in the galaxy. Not to destroy the rangers. Not anymore."

"YOU'RE NOT THE ONE IN POWER! I'M GOING TO DEFEAT THOSE RANGERS IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!" Snide howled with fury.

"We'll just see about that," Tyler declared. He and Kendall turned their Dino Blasters to their friends' and fired another round. This time, the blast that came out blew apart the blocks of ice, immediately releasing their friends from Iceage's prison. They looked at each other in confusion before racing to their friends, taking back the Energems that had been taken away from them.

"The Energems," Snide declared. He turned to Iceage. "Give them to me!"

"As you wish," Iceage declared, walking towards the rangers with purpose.

Kendall took a step towards the monsters with an expression of grim determination on her face. "I'm not going to let you get away with that either," She declared. "It's morphin' time! Dino Charger, Ready!"

"Energize! Ha! Unleash the power! Power Rangers, Dino Charge!"

Iceage created a new army of Vivix that shot out to attack the rangers alongside Iceage.

"Dino Steel! Armor On!" Tyler, Shelby, Chase, Riley, and Koda declared, powering up, before racing into battle with Vivix.

Snide raced into battle as well, taking on Tyler. The Red Ranger used his T-Rex Smasher against Snide's sword and slashed it against Snide's. The two twisted back and forth, spinning around each other, swinging their sword and Smasher around as they did so. Snide was sure he had Tyler at one point, nearly taking off his head with one of his swings, but the Red Ranger ducked out of the way and slammed Snide in the side with his T-Rex Smasher. Snide's leg fell away from him and he crashed onto the ground in a kneeling position.

"Take this, Snide!" Tyler leapt high into the air, pushing his T-Rex Smasher forward. Snide quickly brought up his sword and struck the T-Rex Smasher away, swinging his other hand upwards and punched Tyler hard in the chest, knocking him down once more. Tyler groaned, rolling onto his side. "You're not going to get away with this!"

Snide looked over and watched as the rangers took on Iceage and the summoned Vivix. They were putting up a fight, but it wasn't necessarily a good one. They still had a chance to win, but he needed to get rid of some of the rangers first. "Oh, but I am," Snide said, turning back to him. He walked towards Tyler and rose his sword high into the air.

Just then, a searing pain stabbed him in the neck.

No.

Not now.

Not again.

Snide fell to his knees, bringing his hand to his neck. "No," he cried. "You can't do this to me!" He cried. "Not when I'm so close to destroying all of them."

"I'm not going to let you do this," Heckyl said.

Snide continued to groan with effort but his arms moved all on their own. He turned the sword around in his hands until the blade was pointed directly towards him, right above his stomach. "What are you doing?" He demanded. He could feel himself started to transform back. "You're going to kill yourself!"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," Heckyl declared. He turned Snide towards the rangers and watched as Kendall and the others continued to fight. "For her and for my friends."

"Don't!" Snide shouted, trying to turn Heckyl away.

"What's going on?" Tyler muttered, watching as the monster continued to argue with himself.

"NO!" Snide shouted again.

But Heckyl gripped the sword as hard as he could and plunged it through his stomach. Heckyl and Snide both screamed in pain as the sword passed through them both feeling it as they were in the middle of their transformation. A bright blue light encased them and Heckyl pushed the sword through even further, until the hilt, and then pulled it out once more. Snide fell to his knees and pitched to the side. There was another bright blast of light and when it faded, Heckyl and Snide laid next to each other on the ground.

Heckyl curled up into a ball, pressing his hand over his bleeding wound.

Snide may not have been defeated but at least they had managed to separate.

A small smile came to Heckyl's lips before his eyes closed and he fell limp, darkness taking him over.

* * *

 **A/N:** So what do you guys think of my new cover photo? I'm having a lot of fun writing this story, only one chapter left. I might do another one soon after this one is finished. Thank you for taking some interest in it.

~ **Avalon**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 07**

* * *

Kendall snapped her latex gloves off her hands before scribbling her note down on the papers attached to her clipboard. Then she turned back to Heckyl, who lay quietly on a makeshift examining table and crossed her arms. She forced out a sigh—or rather a huff—shaking her head. There were so many emotions running through her; disgust, betrayal, frustration, confusion, fear, and…okay, maybe a flash of hormonal curiosity went through her as well as she got a healthy look at his bare chest. She needed to do a full body exam, make sure his wound was covered and his shirt got in the way.

Tearing her gaze away from his stomach she looked at Heckyl's face as he started to stir. His eyes blinked open then shifted over to hers, a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. Yet she continued to look at him firmly. This guy was the enemy, tried to destroy her and the others, tried to take their Energems and there he was, smiling at her.

Almost as if reading her mind, Heckyl placed his hand on his stomach and sucked in a deep breath that made him wince and close his eyes once more. "I bet I can't imagine this burning in my stomach is from you punching me after figuring everything out."

"No, I don't think a punch can sever nerve endings and create a stab wound," Kendall shot back coolly. "Nor do I think it'll explain everything we need to know."

"I suppose I do owe you a bit of an explanation, Pretty Lady," Heckyl said. He grimaced and closed his eyes once more. "I mean, Ms. Morgan." He swallowed hard. "Though there is an explanation that you owe me as well. One of you being a power ranger."

"Which you already knew!" Kendall spat. She took the moment to unleash her fury towards the prone young man. "You knew I was a ranger, you knew the others were rangers and you _used_ me! You made me think that you were a nice guy and actually trying to help us out here, to be a nice, good person, and you played me like a fool!" She took a step back away from him. "And I'm the idiot that believed you. I'm the one who let you in here, who let you in among all of us, I trusted you. And you betrayed that trust."

"If you'll give me the chance to explain—"

"Oh, you're going to explain all right and then I never want to see you again." Kendall took a deep breath, bringing her fingers up to pinch the bridge of her nose. She had to calm down. _Don't freak out, Kendall. This guy isn't worth your time or your emotions. You have to get him out of here and then go back to looking for Snide. You need to focus on Snide now._

"I'll admit when I first met you…the time that I saved you, I was already under the influence of Snide. But let me explain my past a little bit. You see I'm a bounty. A prisoner if you will. Sledge had captured me because of the galaxies and planets I've conquered and destroyed and he couldn't let someone else, a threat like me, stand in his way. So he captured me and I've been his slave for as long as I could remember. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, months into years and I was set to solitary confinement aboard his aircraft. But I was not alone as I had Snide with me. As long as I can remember Snide has always been with me, but he hasn't always been. There was a time where I was just Heckyl and one day he came to me and managed to break down my defenses, he forced me to become a part of him so that he could create his reign of terror within the galaxies by using me to infiltrate." He swallowed hard once more, starting to tremble.

Whether it was from the cold or due to the pain of his wound, Kendall wasn't sure.

"At first I tried to resist him, I tried to make him see that what he was doing was wrong. But I couldn't overpower him, not until he became weak. You see that's how you don't ever see the two of us in the same place, we have to transform between myself and Snide. But we're always with each other, communicating through m pocket watch. Then there was the time I started to become swayed by the things Snide was doing, the power he was showing me and I became drunk with the power. It wasn't my end-all-be-all plan but it was something. I was feared, respected, and getting more money than I've ever thought imaginable. But then me or Snide became careless and we were captured. Within our captivity we heard about the Power Rangers and their Energems and how powerful harnessing the Energems could make someone.

"Snide immediately determined we were going to take down those that wielded them and harness the power for ourselves. So we waited and waited and waited, hoping we would be let out. And once Sledge gave us the chance…Snide took it. That's how I came to know about you and the others. I was on Earth, trying to find the Power Rangers, trying to see who were the ones that the Energems had bonded onto…" Heckyl's eyes shifted to Kendall's and she held her breath. Was there truth in his eyes? Was he lying? But as he looked at her she could see nothing but the truth and more emotion she had ever seen from him. "I ran into you, that Pretty Lady who I saved from being hit by a car. Honestly, if it were anyone else I wouldn't have thought twice about them but there was something about you that was different. But then the Power Rangers appeared and it seemed as if they knew you and you knew them and Snide immediately understood you were the key to finding them.

"So I watched you. But while I watched you I wanted to get to know you better. I wanted to know what your hopes and dreams were. Your aspirations; I can't imagine you want to stay at the museum for the rest of your life. So I went back down to Earth just to talk to you, I didn't expect for you to be a Power Rangers or the others. I wanted to talk. But Snide…he's always been so powerful and I can't always fend him off. He knew then and there what we were going to do and I had no choice but to follow him."

Kendall slowly nodded. His story made sense, but there were still some things she was skeptical about. _Maybe you're not skeptical of the story rather than your feelings for him,_ a voice in her head told her. _Your very real feelings for him._ Kendall waved off the voice and continued to stare down at him. She didn't let any emotion show on her face, she couldn't give him the satisfaction.

"What about when we were in the woods?" She asked. "How did you keep Iceage away from me?"

"That is another interesting tidbit of my merger with Snide," Heckyl said. He pressed his hand even more firmly over his wound. "This tattoo on my neck is the signifier of Sledge's existence with me. I don't know what species of monster he is but I wouldn't doubt all of his species leaves marks like that when taken over. My goggles, the ones that I assume you noticed are always around my neck, make it so that I can see sources of energy and power. But the energy blasts, what I saved you with, come from me. They're very powerful and can also be used in a telekinetic fashion. Snide only has his sword."

"So by the time you came to apply at the café, you could use your goggles to see that we were rangers?" Kendall asked.

Heckyl nodded.

"And then you were pretending to be our friend?" Kendall started to pace but Heckyl threw out his hand and grabbed onto Kendall's wrist, holding her still.

"I never pretended to be your friend. I find it very difficult to pretend to be something I'm not. Snide and I are two different beings and I was forced into a merge. I'm not Snide in any way other than hosting his body. I was you friend, I did enjoy working with Koda and Ivan, I _do_ have feelings for you."

Kendall faltered at the change of words from Heckyl. Everything else was said in past-tense but he made sure to refer to her in the present.

 _I do have feelings for you._

"You were the first person that saw me as Heckyl rather than…something to be feared."

"That's because I didn't know who you were."

"I didn't know you were a ranger either, but I never held that against you." Heckyl tightened his grip against Kendall's wrist. "I tried to stop him many times, but he's always been more powerful. So I stopped him the only way I knew how." Heckyl closed his eyes. "I don't doubt Snide is waiting for his chance to strike me down now that I've healed."

Kendall reached out and pushed Heckyl's hand away from her wrist, placing it back on the table. This time she kept a firm grip on him. "Actually, you've managed to completely separate yourself from him. In the middle of the battle of Snide and Iceage, when you were transforming between yourself and Snide, you stabbed yourself in the stomach with your own sword. Er,"—Kendall paused—" _Snide's_ sword," she corrected herself. "I can't explain it, but the combination of the sword's power and the transformation caused you two to split apart. You're your own man."

"Until Snide decides to come back and take over again."

"Snide escaped shortly after your separation. I don't believe he'd be back to do much for a while. Not if he's weaker without using your body as a host."

"Well, at least I was good for something."

Heckyl's eyes shifted meaningfully towards Kendall and she felt her face flush as she thought of the kiss she had given him in the woods. But she had been in a vulnerable state, she was in a frenzy looking for her friends, her emotions were all over the place. Could she use that same excuse for when she daydreamed that kiss within her office? Probably not but she would force herself to do that if she needed to.

Instead of allowing herself to think of it any further, Kendall cleared her throat and became no-nonsense once more. "You really helped us out in our fight against Iceage, Snide, and the Vivix. So, thank you for that."

"You're welcome," Heckyl replied.

The two locked eyes and Kendall felt herself falling deep within her emotions once more. And yet she couldn't tear her eyes away from his until she heard a low murmur from the other rangers. They seemed to be deep in conversation about something and Kendall was sure she knew the topic.

"Well, I'll let you get some sleep," Kendall said, finally tearing her eyes away from his. "Stab wounds aren't so easy to heal."

"I guess that's one advantage Snide has," Heckyl chuckled. "He takes the brunt of the damage I don't have to worry about." He closed his eyes for a brief moment and opened them again, this time they were filled with more energy. "Thank you,"—he smirked—"Pretty Lady."

He brought his arm up, the one still holding onto his wrist, and gently pressed his lips against her skin.

Kendall shook her head as she pulled her hand away and walked out of the room. She tried her hardest not to smile and managed it the best she could. Until she turned the corner and was immediately bombarded with questions by the other rangers.

But not about how Heckyl is Snide and Snide is Heckyl, but about her and what was going on between her and Heckyl. And the one leading it all with a bright smile on his face was Ivan.

* * *

 **The End**

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you guys for the feedback on the story. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I may do some more short stories for Dino Charge or I may include it in my OC-series with Avalon and Bailey. But, honestly, thank you so much. I had a lot of fun with it, I love the idea of Kendall and Heckyl and I'm glad I wrote it for some people who were waiting for stories about them.

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

~ **Avalon**


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